Homecoming spirit running high at CHS
By Buck Traxler, I-O Editor
You only thought the parties in Conrad were over. Not!
The 100-year celebration ended and Homecoming at Conrad High School picked up the slack on Monday.
They will be having a series of little events all week, leading up to the Pep Rally in the new gym Saturday morning, athletic game on Saturday and a huge dance the same evening.
Conrad is just Rockin’.
Monday began the week with Redneck Day with staff and students dressing for a “down home” homecoming.
On Tuesday, if you were by the school, you may have seen double as students took to “Twin Day” with the idea of having their opponents seeing double.
Wednesday was a “Crazy Color Day” with students encouraged to show off colors and school pride.
Seniors dressed up in blue, Juniors took to wearing yellow, Sophomores came attired in Green and Freshmen wore black.
Thursday the students had a Theme Day, such as Halloween, the 4th of July, Christmas or New Year’s and dress for the occasion. This day would require some imagination by the students.
Friday was a little more traditional, being Red and White Day, the school’s colors. At 7 p.m. the Spirit Night Bonfire will be held at the practice field.
Saturday morning the school floats will be showing up at CHS and at 9 a.m. the Pep Assembly will take place, TA-DA, in the new gym.
There will special skits put on, and the Homecoming King and Queen and their court will be announced.
This year the senior class candidates of Brandon Philipps and Jayleen Harris.
The junior class candidates for this year are Rhett Orcutt and Bethany Grubb.
The sophomore class candidates are Brach Newmiller and Whitney Bliss.
The freshman class candidates are Nate Gage and Samantha Fagan.
Following the Pep Assembly, the high school parade begins as close to 10 a.m. as possible. If you didn’t come to the Pep Rally at the gym, you can see the King and Queen in the parade and if you still, for some reason, missed that, they will be announced during the halftime at the football game along with float, hall and spirit winners.
This year the Cowboys and the Choteau Bulldogs will tango on the grass with the kickoff slated for 1 p.m. It is the Cowboys last home game of the season.
Right after the game the Booster Club will be hosting a barbecue in front of the CHS commons.
The Cowgirl volleyball team, who are ranked number three, 6-3 in the conference play and 6-4 overall, will host the Cut Bank Lady Wolves who are number two in the conference with a 6-2 record, 7-2 overall.
There should be some excellent court action to take in with the sub-varsity action starting about 4:15 p.m.
The Homecoming dance will begin at 9 p.m. and go to midnight.
Activity in Conrad should taper down a little, but about next weekend…..
You only thought the parties in Conrad were over. Not!
The 100-year celebration ended and Homecoming at Conrad High School picked up the slack on Monday.
They will be having a series of little events all week, leading up to the Pep Rally in the new gym Saturday morning, athletic game on Saturday and a huge dance the same evening.
Conrad is just Rockin’.
Monday began the week with Redneck Day with staff and students dressing for a “down home” homecoming.
On Tuesday, if you were by the school, you may have seen double as students took to “Twin Day” with the idea of having their opponents seeing double.
Wednesday was a “Crazy Color Day” with students encouraged to show off colors and school pride.
Seniors dressed up in blue, Juniors took to wearing yellow, Sophomores came attired in Green and Freshmen wore black.
Thursday the students had a Theme Day, such as Halloween, the 4th of July, Christmas or New Year’s and dress for the occasion. This day would require some imagination by the students.
Friday was a little more traditional, being Red and White Day, the school’s colors. At 7 p.m. the Spirit Night Bonfire will be held at the practice field.
Saturday morning the school floats will be showing up at CHS and at 9 a.m. the Pep Assembly will take place, TA-DA, in the new gym.
There will special skits put on, and the Homecoming King and Queen and their court will be announced.
This year the senior class candidates of Brandon Philipps and Jayleen Harris.
The junior class candidates for this year are Rhett Orcutt and Bethany Grubb.
The sophomore class candidates are Brach Newmiller and Whitney Bliss.
The freshman class candidates are Nate Gage and Samantha Fagan.
Following the Pep Assembly, the high school parade begins as close to 10 a.m. as possible. If you didn’t come to the Pep Rally at the gym, you can see the King and Queen in the parade and if you still, for some reason, missed that, they will be announced during the halftime at the football game along with float, hall and spirit winners.
This year the Cowboys and the Choteau Bulldogs will tango on the grass with the kickoff slated for 1 p.m. It is the Cowboys last home game of the season.
Right after the game the Booster Club will be hosting a barbecue in front of the CHS commons.
The Cowgirl volleyball team, who are ranked number three, 6-3 in the conference play and 6-4 overall, will host the Cut Bank Lady Wolves who are number two in the conference with a 6-2 record, 7-2 overall.
There should be some excellent court action to take in with the sub-varsity action starting about 4:15 p.m.
The Homecoming dance will begin at 9 p.m. and go to midnight.
Activity in Conrad should taper down a little, but about next weekend…..
Stockman Bank to teach students credit
Stockman Bank will be teaching students on how to use credit wisely on Oct. 21 at Conrad High School as part of National Get Smart About Credit month.
Joan Jensen, real estate and consumer loan officer at Stockman Bank, will help educate 11th and 12th grade students in Janie McFarland’s business math class on the do’s and don’ts of credit.
The main focus of the presentation will be on obtaining and managing credit, understanding the importance of a good credit record, budgeting now to help avoid credit problems later and keeping personal financial information secure.
“The choices our youth make with their first credit card will impact their lives years later when they apply for a car loan or even a mortgage,” says Dan Majerus, president of Stockman Bank Conrad.
He went on to add, “We are participating in this program to raise awareness about the responsible use of credit. And, to show our youth how they can use credit wisely right from the start.”
Stockman Bank is proud to participate in Get Smart About Credit month and help educate students on the importance of having good credit now, so they can make smart financial choices later in life, Jensen added.
Joan Jensen, real estate and consumer loan officer at Stockman Bank, will help educate 11th and 12th grade students in Janie McFarland’s business math class on the do’s and don’ts of credit.
The main focus of the presentation will be on obtaining and managing credit, understanding the importance of a good credit record, budgeting now to help avoid credit problems later and keeping personal financial information secure.
“The choices our youth make with their first credit card will impact their lives years later when they apply for a car loan or even a mortgage,” says Dan Majerus, president of Stockman Bank Conrad.
He went on to add, “We are participating in this program to raise awareness about the responsible use of credit. And, to show our youth how they can use credit wisely right from the start.”
Stockman Bank is proud to participate in Get Smart About Credit month and help educate students on the importance of having good credit now, so they can make smart financial choices later in life, Jensen added.
OB program at PMC will remain
Special to the I-O by Donna Sanders
“Your health is our mission,” (PMC) Pondera Medical Center CEO Mark Jones told the Independent-Observer on Wednesday.
Jones, along with the hospital board of trustees on Thursday decided to keep the hospital’s obstetrics program alive.
The board was considering cutting the program because of budget concerns, nurse satisfaction, physician and nurse recruitment, the cost of keeping certified nurse anesthetists to cover the operating room, and the diminished use of baby deliveries at the PMC.
The number of births at the hospital has dropped from 45 in 2007 to 27 in all of 2008 and 22 to date this year.
Nevertheless, on Thursday, after some discussion, the board modified the budget to allow for a full-time on-call nurse anesthetist, and is considering other number-crunching possibilities to keep the program alive.
The loss of the OB program at PMC would mean no more babies would be born in Conrad, unless under emergency circumstances. Jones also noted, “People will not consider you a hospital if you do not have an OB program.”
That is a scary thought for Stephanie Keil-Harris, a local mother of four, including twins born at the PMC in August 2008.
“The thought of driving to Great Falls while in labor frightened me, and Andre (her husband) and I wanted to be close to our family,” she said.
“When we found out that we could doctor and birth locally in Conrad, we were thrilled,” she said, adding, “We saw Dr. Peter Barran here and Dr. Tom Key in Great Falls on consult. Dr. Key was very supportive of my desire to give birth in Conrad.”
When the time came for the babies to be born, the Harris family received outstanding care from Dr. Barran, Dr. Jay Taylor and several of the nurses and other medical staff at PMC, with the result being two full-term healthy babies with no complications.
“I’ve given birth at two state-of-the-art medical centers in the Minneapolis area, and the care we received at the PMC was just as professional as, and probably more personal than my first two births,” Keil-Harris said.
On the idea of losing the OB program, she said, “I would be shocked and saddened. It’s such a vital part of our community, and sets up apart from our neighboring towns. I think pregnant women and families should evaluate their priorities and stay local whenever possible.”
Rural hospitals across the country are struggling to keep their OB programs afloat, for many of the same reasons PMC was considering ceasing its program. Most recently, Cut Bank cut its OB program due to the lack of providers.
For Renee Lowery, a pregnant Cut Bank resident, not having a local option for giving birth is unsettling.
“I am a little bit nervous about being due in the winter knowing that there isn’t a specialist close by to receive me,” Lowery said. “To not have the option to see someone that we are comfortable with in our community is troubling.”
“Your health is our mission,” (PMC) Pondera Medical Center CEO Mark Jones told the Independent-Observer on Wednesday.
Jones, along with the hospital board of trustees on Thursday decided to keep the hospital’s obstetrics program alive.
The board was considering cutting the program because of budget concerns, nurse satisfaction, physician and nurse recruitment, the cost of keeping certified nurse anesthetists to cover the operating room, and the diminished use of baby deliveries at the PMC.
The number of births at the hospital has dropped from 45 in 2007 to 27 in all of 2008 and 22 to date this year.
Nevertheless, on Thursday, after some discussion, the board modified the budget to allow for a full-time on-call nurse anesthetist, and is considering other number-crunching possibilities to keep the program alive.
The loss of the OB program at PMC would mean no more babies would be born in Conrad, unless under emergency circumstances. Jones also noted, “People will not consider you a hospital if you do not have an OB program.”
That is a scary thought for Stephanie Keil-Harris, a local mother of four, including twins born at the PMC in August 2008.
“The thought of driving to Great Falls while in labor frightened me, and Andre (her husband) and I wanted to be close to our family,” she said.
“When we found out that we could doctor and birth locally in Conrad, we were thrilled,” she said, adding, “We saw Dr. Peter Barran here and Dr. Tom Key in Great Falls on consult. Dr. Key was very supportive of my desire to give birth in Conrad.”
When the time came for the babies to be born, the Harris family received outstanding care from Dr. Barran, Dr. Jay Taylor and several of the nurses and other medical staff at PMC, with the result being two full-term healthy babies with no complications.
“I’ve given birth at two state-of-the-art medical centers in the Minneapolis area, and the care we received at the PMC was just as professional as, and probably more personal than my first two births,” Keil-Harris said.
On the idea of losing the OB program, she said, “I would be shocked and saddened. It’s such a vital part of our community, and sets up apart from our neighboring towns. I think pregnant women and families should evaluate their priorities and stay local whenever possible.”
Rural hospitals across the country are struggling to keep their OB programs afloat, for many of the same reasons PMC was considering ceasing its program. Most recently, Cut Bank cut its OB program due to the lack of providers.
For Renee Lowery, a pregnant Cut Bank resident, not having a local option for giving birth is unsettling.
“I am a little bit nervous about being due in the winter knowing that there isn’t a specialist close by to receive me,” Lowery said. “To not have the option to see someone that we are comfortable with in our community is troubling.”